Archive for April, 2014

Comments Off on Even Better Than The Real Thing: Pepsi To Launch Drink Made With Real Sugar

by Zeus Gazette

Image by Ubcule | Wikimedia

While Coca-Cola has long been touted “the real thing,” Pepsi recently upped the ante and is taking “real” to another level—they’ll be using real sugar.

PepsiCo unveiled plans to launch “Pepsi made with real sugar” as well as two “made with real sugar” limited-time flavors—Pepsi Vanilla and Pepsi Wild Cherry—come June. While originally sugar-based, U.S. regular Pepsi has been made with high fructose corn syrup for the past three decades.

More than just cola

Pepsi dipped with last year’s 4.4% setback in sales. This didn’t spell disaster for the beverage company, because Coca-Cola also took a 2.2% decrease in sales volume. What’s unusual is that PepsiCo actually increased revenues to the tune of a 1.4% growth despite of a 1.6% plunge in beverage revenues. How so? Pepsi isn’t solely a “drink” business. It’s also a snack business, owning common household names as Doritos, Fritos, Lay’s, and Cheetos, among others.

Sweet and Spicy with a twist of expansion

PepsiCo’s latest gearshift to sugar-based drinks represents its most recent drive to tickle different parts of the consumers’ palate.

Malaysia and Indonesia joined other Muslim nations that forbid the biblical epic “Noah,” starred by Hollywood actor Russell Crowe, from being shown in theatres. The two countries banned the film for its visual depiction of Noah, the prophet.

The Rejection

Film censors in both countries said that the portrayal of the ark-building prophet was against Islamic laws.

“The film ‘Noah’ is not allowed to be screened in this country to protect the sensitivity and harmony in Malaysia’s multi-racial and multi-religious community,” Film Censorship Board Chairman Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid said in a statement.

According to Muchlis Paeni, head of Indonesia’s censor board, the plot of the movie directed by Darren Aronofsky “contradicted both the Quran and the Bible.”

“We have to reject Noah to be screened here,” Paeni said. “We don’t want a film that could provoke controversies and negative reactions.”

The Reactions

While Indonesian Council of Ulama, the country’s most influential Islamic body, welcomed the move, many Indonesians condemned the ban on social media.

Filmmaker Joko Anwar shared his thoughts about the censor board’s decision on Twitter. For him, it was a backward step for Indonesia.

“The decision was very regrettable, so sad,” he said.

Muslim countries like UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain have already banned the film. Some Christian conservatives also have complains about its inaccurate portrayal of the biblical account of the flood.

The Eiffel Tower recently celebrated its 125th anniversary on March 31, and with it came a lot more admiration, praise, and interest for arguably the most recognizable silhouette in the world.

Back in 1889, when Gustave Eiffel built the lattices tower as centerpiece for that year’s World Fair, it was planned only as a temporary edifice to be torn down after 20 years.

Today, the iconic landmark in the city of Paris is the most visited paid monument in the world, drawing in more than 7 million visitors a year, 75 percent of whom are foreign tourists.

Here are some other fun facts and figures about the real-life Iron Lady:

She’s Taken

In a commitment ceremony in 2007, an American woman, Erika La Tour Eiffel (she changed her name), “married” the Eiffel Tower. The woman suffers from ‘Objectum-Sexual,’ a condition wherein people fall in love with inanimate objects.

She was Once Yellow

It takes a lot of primping and priming to look good at 125 years old. The “Iron Lady” originally sported a reddish-brown color. A decade later, she was coated in yellow paint. Several decades and mixes later, she now sports a specially mixed “Eiffel Tower Brown” color in 1968. Every seven years, the tower is re-coated with 60 tons of paint to keep her looking young.

She’s Growing…or Not

Due to the fluctuating temperatures, the Eiffel Tower will shrink and grow by up to 15 cm, or 6 inches.

She’s More Famed than New York’s Empire State Building

Annual visitor count for the Eiffel Tower from 2003-2008 grew from 5.9 million to 6.9 million, beating The Empire State Building, with only a little over 3.5 million visitors a year. The Paris tower is open every day and includes two restaurants. Summer hours are 9 a.m. to 12:45 am, local time.